BOSTON — In a thrilling matchup on Wednesday night, Kebba Njie made a crucial basket with just 16 seconds remaining in the second overtime, leading the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to a narrow 97-94 victory against the Boston College Eagles. Freshman Markus Burton delivered an outstanding performance, scoring a personal best of 32 points.
With 1:20 left in the second overtime, Dion Brown’s layup helped give the Eagles a brief 94-93 advantage after they had been down by five points earlier in the period. Following missed free throws by Burton and a three-pointer attempt by Donald Hand Jr. of Boston College, Njie redeemed a missed shot from Burton by following it up with a basket, putting Notre Dame ahead 95-94, although he failed to convert the free throw attempt that would have given him the and-one.
Brown had a chance to tie the game back up but missed a jumper with only six seconds on the clock. Burton then sealed the win for Notre Dame, sinking two free throws to finish off the Eagles.
In addition to Burton, Tae Davis contributed significantly with 20 points, while Braeden Shrewsberry added 16 for the Fighting Irish, who improved to 11-13 overall and 5-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) after snapping a three-game losing streak.
On the side of Boston College, Chad Venning led the scoring with 21 points, complemented by 17 from Hand, and 15 each from both Brown and Roger McFarlane, while Fred Payne chipped in 11 points. The Eagles now sit at 10-14 overall, struggling with only two victories in their last ten games, as their conference record falls to 2-11.
Despite trailing by 14 points early in the second half, Notre Dame managed to tie the score three different times in the final two minutes of regulation. The Irish finally took the lead when Burton hit a layup with 3:50 remaining in the first overtime period.
With about 1:26 to go in the first extra period, Notre Dame had built a three-point advantage, but Hand quickly answered back with a three-pointer, leading to a tense finale in which neither team was able to score during the final minute.
Boston College had a strong first half, shooting 61% from the field, and went into halftime with a 41-35 lead. In the crucial final ten minutes of the regulation, Davis and Burton were vital for Notre Dame, scoring all but two of the team’s 20 points, while Hand and Venning accounted for all but two of the Eagles’ last 14 points.
Looking ahead, Boston College will head to North Carolina State on Saturday, while Notre Dame prepares to host Louisville on Sunday.
